The Swimming Pool by Holly LeCraw

This is a book I dove right into without needing to come up for air. Ms. LeCraw has packed the pages with enough sustenance to read the book in one sitting. (Ok, maybe just ONE of those Mint Juleps that Cecil is pedaling at the pool party would be welcome during the read)

I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader's copy of "The Swimming Pool" (TSP) through the Early Reviewers Group at LibraryThing.com. Apparently, when I request a book the LibraryThing search engine goes to work matching my previous tastes, based on my posted Library, to the books I request. According to said engine, TSP was a good fit for me. The engine proved itself to be quite reliable in this pick.

My partner, Book Lover, will also be quite happy to hear that my advanced reader's copy had NO reader's guide. We, consenting adults, in a free country are left to ponder the themes, characters, and plots all on our very own. I am wondering if all this free thinking could get us in trouble. Will we be tempted to talk about things that the author never intended? Will the book be subject to our own life stories and experiences instead? Will it end society as we know it? (A bit over the top, but still a concern)

TSP was full of lush characters that flew off the pages in three dimensions. Seeing yourself in Ms. LeCraw's characters is not always flattering but it is certainly revealing.

When I first saw the cover and the blurbs (I try not to read the blurbs but it's hard on an advanced reader's copy not to) I thought I was destined for some fluffy chick lit (no offense to chickliters) but this was not to be the case. The novel delves into the deepest of family secrets and how each of the characters is ultimately affected; whether a secret teller or a secret keeper.

Under the What?

I thought it would be fun to be a guest blogger and be able to embarrass my partner with my less than literary repartee about the books I am reading or have read or might be thinking about reading.
Most recently I dove into Stephen Kings new novel "Under the Dome", which could be called a "Tomb", I suppose. Eleven hundred pages of good versus evil with evil having profoundly more victories that then aforementioned good.
Mr. King has no problem killing off characters that we know and love. In fact, I believe that Mr. King sits at his desk thinking up ways to make the characters he is going to dismember more likable to us, his dear readers.
My favorite part of "Under the Dome" is that he has included three dogs that figure predominantly in the story and he actually lets one of them live to the very end.
The storyline itself is what happens in a community when an impenetrable, clear dome comes down around a city. Let's just say that not being accountable to anyone on the outside of the dome does not seem to enhance the character of those living under it. Stephen writes the story like a contagion of evil was released there and most people neglected to get vaccinated.
I have heard a lot of talk about this book being compared to "The Stand", a book that still haunts me and has characters I will never forget. I can see why the comparisons are being made but can't say that "Under the Dome" is of the same caliber.
The Stand is a classic and Under the Dome a book that will be revered by carpal tunnel specialists everywhere.

Brief Woundrous Life of Oscar Wao

Is it important not to die a virgin? In this book, if one is from the Dominican Republic (DR), it is vitally important. Did I care if he died a virgin or not? Well, not so much.

I liked that the book was told from the point of view of a friend, even if said friend did seem pretty darn omniscient, in that he knew the whole entire history of Oscar's family, as well as detailed history of the DR. My favorite part was about Abelard, Oscar's grandfather, and his dealings with Trujillo (brutal dictator). I liked the sprinklings of Spanish, even though I missed a lot of meaning because my Spanish is so poor. I liked the sci-fi references. I was afraid I'd miss a lot of them, not being a sci-fi geek myself, but no, I think I got them.

Did I love this book? This Pulitzer Prize winning book? Well, not really. I'm glad I read it, glad in a "glad-it's-under-my-belt" kind of way. Good to learn more about the DR and Trujillo. None of the characters were particularly likable, though that isn't necessarily always a goal. These people went through shit and, for the most part, came out the other side. So...resilience, survival. A bit grim.

Now onto Impatient With Desire...about the Donner Party. Which won't be grim at all.

Impatient With Desire

I just read Gabrielle Burton's comment on the blog (!), author of Impatient With Desire, one of the books I have been planning to read. I'm delighted that she wrote, and for her (and your) information, I did choose to read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao first, only because it just seemed more appealing at the moment I was choosing. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just a timing thing.

(Perhaps GB's book title is apt...might she be impatient with desire for people to read her book?)

I am about halfway through Oscar, and it did take me a little bit to get into it. The style is unusual, though I like it, told sort of from a friend's point of view of looking in on Oscar and his family. My sad (and very distant) two years of high school Spanish isn't near enough for me to understand all of the sprinklings of Spanish in the book, which is a bit of a drawback for me as a reader. I look up the Spanish words I don't know when I'm near a computer, but so often I am reading on the train or somewhere my computer isn't, so miss some of the meaning. Diaz also uses lots of footnotes, mostly telling more detail about the political situation in the Dominican Republic, which is helpful, though sometimes they are rather dense. I am reading most of them.